Mentalist Episode Tag: Bloodstream, 3x17
by Donnamour1969
Summary: Jane and Lisbon discuss what they each learned from Lisbon's new job description. On the fluffy side.  Spoilers, 3x17.  Rated T for mild language.


A/N: I enjoyed this episode—lots of great lines for Jane (and everyone else), my favorite being "You may kiss the hem of my garment." LOL. I did wish there had been some scenes between Cho the Boss and Jane. It would have been interesting to see how Cho tried to keep Jane in line. I didn't handle that here, but if any of you are looking for a tag idea, that would be one I'd love to read. This tag is another post-case discussion between Lisbon and Jane, because I do so love those, and always wish that they would go on longer…

**Episode Tag: Bloodstream, 3x17**

Jane had spent the last two days at the hospital, so he had effectively avoided being bossed by the temporary new boss, Cho, and was able to keep a comfortable distance between himself and new head of the CBI Serious Crimes Unit, J.J. LaRoche. This was perfectly all right with him, for as much as he hated hospitals, anything was preferable to experiencing the fallout of a Hightower-less office. And so, once he'd solved the case, Lisbon was again senior agent, and all was right with the world (save of course, LaRoche's reign of terror), it was finally safe to come in out of the cold and find his way once again to Lisbon's warm couch.

"Awww…" he breathed in relative contentment, lying back on soft leather, his cup of case-closed tea steeping on the table beside him.

"Comfie?" asked Lisbon from her desk. She couldn't help the note of sarcasm she directed him, for while she must stay late and do paperwork and prepare for a meeting the next morning, her intrepid colleague, who actually _had _a choice in the matter, was choosing to stay and bug her.

"Why yes, Lisbon. Nothing like the feeling of accomplishment one gets from saving lives and putting away the bad…uh, girl."

"Yeah, you just lay there and look pretty while the rest of us tie up all these messy loose ends."

"Thanks. I will…you think I'm pretty?" He was grinning , eyes closed, but imagining her answering dimpled smile.

She snorted indelicately. "Pretty annoying," she muttered, but Jane had excellent hearing. His grin widened.

They were both quiet a few minutes, Lisbon struggling to focus on said paperwork while all she really wanted to do was go out for drinks with the rest of her team. A few shots of tequila-boy, that would have been a nice way to unwind. She glanced over at her deceptively relaxed colleague.

"Hey, Jane."

"Hmmmm?"

"Why aren't you out celebrating Cho's demotion?"

"Tea and your couch sounded much more inviting. And here you are too, back in your element, nose to the grindstone, martyring yourself so that others might rest."

"I'm not martyring myself. I'm doing what needs to be done."

"Pish," said Jane.

"Pish?"

"Pish. You heard me. Did you learn nothing from LaRoche's Goebbels-like manipulation?"

"I learned that our new boss is a bigger asshole than I ever imagined, and that his passive-aggressive behavior ended up punishing Cho much more than it did me. It was a blatant misuse of his power, and if he wants to earn respect from us, this isn't the way to go about it."

"All true," Jane conceded mildly. "But I was really asking what you learned about yourself, Lisbon."

"Myself?"

"Yeah, you know, Miss Martyr, _you?_"

She ignored the insult and actually contemplated his question.

"It was hard at first," Lisbon said finally. "I'm fine with following orders, but what was really difficult was not being able to give any."

"Awww…."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She always hated all those noncommittal little noises he made.

"It means, my dear Lisbon, that you have finally admitted that you are indeed a control freak."

"Am not." At his subsequent noncommittal noise, she relented. "Okay. Maybe a little. But you know, I did learn how nice it was not to be in charge for a change. I mean, it was so much less stressful to get my orders and only worry about doing my job. The buck didn't stop with me."

"That feeling wouldn't have lasted long, I'm afraid," he pointed out.

"Maybe, but it also meant I didn't have to take ultimate responsibility for you. And experiencing that feeling, while very short-lived, was worth any temporary loss of power as far as I'm concerned." She smiled to herself at the deft way she'd put it all back on him.

"It sounds like it was very freeing for both of us. For once, I didn't have to worry about the things I do affecting your career."

She snorted at that. "Oh please. Since when have you ever cared enough about my career that you controlled your behavior? I'm thinking the only freedom you were feeling was not having to listen to me gripe at you."

He sat up to sip his tea, his eyes sparkling at her over the rim of his blue teacup. "That's not true. You're like my little Jiminy Cricket, Lisbon, sitting on my shoulder and telling me to let my conscience be my guide. Now where would Pinocchio have been without his Jiminy?"

She chuckled. "You'll never become a real boy, Jane, until you start listening to your conscience before doing whatever the hell you want to anyway. And there's also the matter of your chronic nose-growing situation."

"Fair enough. But without you to gripe, everything would be so much more…boring."

"So glad I'm here to keep you entertained."

He grinned and lay back down, satisfied that he'd made his points and that Lisbon could see this as the learning experience it was, and not get all down on herself as she was wont to do in these situations. But before he dozed off, he had something more to say.

"You know what _I _learned about this experience, Lisbon?"

"What?" She put a lot of skepticism into that _what?_

"I learned that I like having you as my conscience. I may not always do what you advise, but I want you to know that I always listen, even when I'm pretending to ignore you. Your opinion matters to me, and I like having you as my boss. As a matter of fact, you're the only person in this world I would ever allow to get away with being bossy with me."

"So that's why you avoided Cho for two days."

"That, and…Cho scares me."

Lisbon laughed. "He could definitely give LaRoche a run for his money."

"Bite your tongue, Lisbon. Bite. Your. Tongue."

Jane closed his eyes again, content that things had gone back to the CBI version of normal. Lisbon went back to work, lulling him to sleep with her rhythmic computer tapping, accompanied by her soft humming of _When You Wish Upon a Star…_

A/N: Thanks for reading! If you liked it, I'd love to hear about it!

_._


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